Petwarmers: Domino Effect

DOMINO EFFECT
by Edna Taylor

It is difficult to write about just one pet or animal that has
been in our lives or lived in our home, even if just for a weekend.
My husband has told me for years that I should keep a scrapbook
of all the cats we have rescued. I DO keep a scrapbook -- I keep one
in my heart.
Not one kitty has passed through our home who did not touch my
heart and make me wish for a nation that treated its animals better.
I can trace back to the day that Frank and I became completely
immersed in rescue.
We had done bits and pieces before that day -- stuffing
envelopes, donating money, administrative work -- but we had never
gotten our hands dirty, so to speak.
That day was August 13, 1999, and that was the day we lost Domino.
We had adopted Domino, a black and white and cute-as-a-button
kitten, as a little brother to our first kitty, Ichabod, a deaf Maine
Coon we had rescued from a small Texas town where a man was
threatening to kill her.
Domino was a special soul and there will never be another like
him. We only had him in our lives for three short years and his was
a tragic end, but in those three years, he taught us more about love
and life than we had ever learned before. Even though Domino was
gone, we still had our "first born" Ichabod and had adopted another
homeless waif from a local shelter, Shtinky. But there was still
something missing in our hearts and our home.
Trying to fill that void, Frank and I literally threw ourselves
into rescue. Since that day in 1999, I do not think there has been a
time that our house has not been filled with foster cats. Of course,
we added to our own "herd" and ended up keeping some of the fosters
that would be considered unadoptable -- the blind, crippled, litter
box challenged, the ones that had been tortured and therefore had
emotional issues, along with the plain old black cats that no one
seems to want to adopt. We even built a larger house to accommodate
all the cats.
While we still miss Domino more than mere words can express and
there is still a hole in our hearts, we truly believe that Domino was
an angel and his purpose was to come into our lives, and open our
eyes and our hearts to the plight of homeless animals and to inspire
us to become rescuers.
We have pets in our lives for such a short time, but in our
hearts forever and Domino will forever be in our hearts. Thank you,
Domino, for being our rescue.

-- Edna Taylor <tayloredna at msn.com>

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Edna says, "Frank and I have been involved in animal rescue for about
13 years now. We live in Houston with our house full of kitties that
others deemed 'unadoptable.' We like to call it the 'Land of Misfit
Kitties' and we love every one of them."
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